Calendar

The current calendar was adopted in the early First Age by the Church of the Hearth, the festivals and holy days being passed down with few modifications over the centuries. The origin of most of these celebrations is rooted in agrarian life and the natural world, following the yearly cycles of birth and death. Many other religions have celebrations and rituals that mirror the holy days of the Church of the Hearth, although this is the common calendar used throughout the Realm.

Oath Day (1/15) is the traditional day when journeymen and apprentices renew their pledges to their guild. In many towns, this is also the day when new recruits are accepted into a trade and guild masters are named. During the day, many shops will be open with their stock from the previous year available at discounted prices. During the evening, secret and public guild meetings welcome new members and promote master craftsmen.

Blackthorn Day (1/30) is a hearth fire festival that begins at sundown with bonfires and candle lighting ceremonies to harken the return of warmth and sunshine. Homes are decorated with blackthorn which blooms at this time. Traditional feasts are marked by participants making speeches and reciting poems to honor the gods and the monarchy. A sacrifice for peace and prosperity in the new year concludes the celebration at daybreak.

Heartwood Day (2/15) begins with young men carving small trinkets from the heartwood of chestnut, hawthorn, silver maple, or black willow trees. Oftentimes, these trinkets will be heart-shaped. During the day, these are given to the young women they love - with some giving and receiving multiple trinkets. In the evening, all the women of the town gather privately to have a meal and discuss the offers. Unrequited tokens are burned in the hearth fire. Accepted tokens display public affirmation of a couple's love.

Shepherd's Day (2/30) is a feast dedicated to spring birth and the success of the flocks and herds for the upcoming year. It is said to have originated from the ewe's lactating prior to the first birthing of the spring lambs. The celebration is typically held in the town hall with a feast open to all. It is common for the sacrifice of a wolf or other predator to be made after the meal.